


And They (Weren’t) Roommates

by malloryeatsthekeys



Category: Warrior Nun
Genre: !!!, (i am very passionate about this), Boarding School AU, F/F, High School AU, Mutual Pining, ava and beatrice live across the hall from each other, ava has secrets, bea WILL say fuck, bea has shitty parents, camilla is a cinnamon roll, let bea say fuck, slowburnish, the sister warriors go to catholic high school and live in dorms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:21:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26120323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malloryeatsthekeys/pseuds/malloryeatsthekeys
Summary: There’s a soft knock on her door, and she hears it creaks open. Someone steps into the room, and an accented voice floats into the room.“Hello, are you alright? I heard a crash from across the hall and thought I’d check in.”Ava turns around to face the intruder. In front of her is a girl almost exactly her height, hair back in a tight bun, and perhaps the most delicate features Ava’s ever seen. Her gaze naturally meets the girl’s deep brown eyes and her arms fall from her chest to her sides, frame dangling from one hand.Her heart starts pounding again.—-aka a catholic boarding school/high school AU no one wanted but I needed
Relationships: Sister Beatrice/Ava Silva
Comments: 47
Kudos: 364





	1. The Gates of Hell

First day of school. No big deal, right? Just a normal, casual, first day of school. First day of the school year. Not first day of school, ever. Because she was a normal girl with a normal family in normal clothes having a normal first day. She’s normal. Perfectly normal.

Ava sighs. She couldn’t even convince herself, how could she possible convince anyone else? Especially at a school like this, with the pedigree and competition and only sixty girls in all four grades. Especially when she’s joining junior year with no prior experience at an actual, in-person, brick-and-mortar school. Maybe she should just be honest. She could do that. Probably.

She stares at her reflection in her dormitory’s overly shiny front door, her silhouette foreign to herself in a neat, tailored blazer over her plain white shirt. She tugs at its hem, trying to appear as proper as she can. The better she can blend in, the longer she can stave off any intrusive questions like “where are you from?” or “what school did you go to?” And the longer she can hold those off, the better this will go.

She thinks. Probably. Why not?

Deep breath. Shoulders back. Suitcase in hand. Ava grabs the door handle and pulls it straight into her face. Motherfucker. She winces and rubs her forehead before trying again, taking care to pull it slowly this time. She gets in successfully, and makes her way to the check-in desk across the room, where she’s greeted by a brunette with a crazy jawline and the most withering stare Ava’s ever seen in her entire sixteen years on planet earth.

“Uh... hi,” she tries. “I’m here for check in.”

The girl quickly scans Ava up and down then meets her eye. “I assumed.”

“Oookay. Great. Can I... do that?”

“Nope.” The girl returns to her book, completely unaffected. Ava’s jaw drops.

“Whoa. I wasn’t exactly expecting a warm welcome but I definitely didn’t expect this.”

The girl rolls her eyes and puts down her book. She folds her arms and leans onto her desk.

“What did you expect, then?”

“I dunno, maybe the ability to get into the place I’m supposed to live. To start.”

“Well, I—“

“Thanks for watching the desk, Lilith!” A cheery voice cuts through, and a small girl bounces into the room. “Oh! Hi! Can I help you?”

She crosses over to sit behind the desk, and the mean one— Lilith— yields the chair to her, tucking her book under her arm and turning around to sit on the desk, back to them. She opens her book slowly, the crack of the spine somehow loud enough for Ava to hear. She gulps. Oops.

“Yes, uh... I’m here to check in?”

“Great! What’s your name?”

“Ava Silva?” The girl thumbs through a thick stack of files in front of her.

“Oh! Here you are... You’re on the sixth floor,” she passes Ava a booklet embossed with gold lettering: OCS Welcome Week.

“Thanks...,” Ava trails off, unsure what to do next. Thankfully, she’s barely quiet for a second before the happy one pipes back up.

“No problem! My name’s Camilla, and this is Lilith.” Lilith raises a hand in greeting, back still turned and eyes still trained on her book.

“Cool... Nice to meet you,” Ava rocks back and forth on her heels, trying to appear calm.

“So, first year, huh? Where are you from?”

“Spain,” Ava gets out. She fakes a yawn. “Y’know, I’m actually pretty jet lagged... I should probably go to my room and get some sleep.”

At this, Lilith stands and turns to face them, fixing her eyes on Ava. A chill runs through her.

“It’s nine pm in Spain right now. You go to bed at nine pm on Saturdays?”

Ava struggles for words. “Uh...”

“Oh, hush, Lilith. She’s been traveling all day. Of course she wants to get some sleep! Though, you really shouldn’t take more than a nap... there’s a whole day of activities to go to!” Camilla smiles at her warmly, and Ava feels a little tension leave her body. She tries to smile back as genuinely as possible. This wasn’t so bad. She could do this.

“A nap sounds perfect,” she lied. It could be a six hour nap. Or eight hour. Or however long it took to not have to go to any of the activities in this packet. “What’s my room again?”

“It’s all in the packet!”

“Great, great...,” Ava taps the front of her packet. “All in the packet. Sounds good.”

“Here,” Camilla laughs, voice ever so kind. She reaches over and takes the pamphlet from Ava’s hands. She opens it, finds the right page, and passes it back to Ava. “The room number’s right there. You have a single, you’re lucky!”

“Thanks,” Ava says gratefully. She hesitates, still a little uncertain. “Uh, where’s the elevator?”

“No elevator,” Lilith chimes in helpfully.

“The staircase is that way,” Camilla points.

“Fantastic,” Ava says dryly.

“It’s not as bad as it seems, I promise. Would you like some help?” Camilla perks up, a little hopeful.

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” Ava responds hurriedly, “I really don’t want to bother you.” She winces a little as Camilla’s face falls a tiny bit. Jesus, it’s like kicking a puppy, she thinks. “Thank you, though!” she adds, trying to soften the blow. She gives Camilla as big a smile she can muster.

“Anytime.” Her efforts are rewarded with another cheery smile from Camilla. “Let me know if you need anything else!”

“Will do, thanks,” Ava backs away from the desk with awkward wave and makes a beeline for the staircase. She pushes through the heavy door and is met by six flights of intricate stone stairs towering above her. Oh, this is going to _suck._

~~~

Ava collapses into her slightly too firm dorm bed and lets out all the breath she’d been holding. She lets herself sink into it, so grateful to be alone.

She stays there for at least ten minutes, waiting for her heart to stop pounding in her chest.

Hey, she survived the first interaction! She even made it past Lilith, the terrifying gatekeeper with a truly magnificent jawline and remarkably high cheekbones. Even Ava had to give it up. Those were supermodel cheekbones if she’d ever seen ‘em.

At least Camilla seemed nice. At least she had a single. Thank God she had a single. The idea of meeting a roommate is the exact last thing she wants to do right now. The idea of meeting anyone right now sounded like hell, really.

Eventually she rolls onto her side and picks up her welcome pamphlet. She flips through it casually, scanning the roster of events.

 _Meet and greet banquet with the Fathers? Mother Superion’s tea hour?_

This place really was fancy. Was there anything in here remotely worth going to?

She searched the three-page Day 1 schedule for something more reasonable.

_Martial arts safety orientation. Armory check out procedure course. Fencing materials pickup._

This has got to be some sort of joke packet, Ava thinks. This can’t be real.

She turns the page and continues reading.

 _Class registration, club fair, ice cream social._ Well, those were normal at least. _Evening mass_. But definitely nothing she wanted to go to.

Ugh. If she was going to be here all day, she might as well unpack. She hoists herself off the bed and opens her suitcase. It’s smallish, just big enough to hold everything she owns and the five uniform blazers (and their matching counterparts) she was issued. She looks at all her earthly possessions and frowns. She definitely doesn’t have a shot at best dressed, if this school even had a yearbook.

Curious, she grabs the welcome packet and finds the list of school clubs. Sure enough, no yearbook. Of course not. Why have classic high school experiences when you can join the ancient languages club, or the Biblical art society? She tosses the pamphlet back onto the bed and crouches to grab a stack of her plain white t-shirts.

She pulls open a random dresser drawer and drops the shirts into it.

Halfway done, she thinks wryly. She sighs and reaches for her jeans, all stiff and new. She places them next to the shirts in the drawer, then proceeds to empty her suitcase of bras, socks, underwear. When she reaches her uniforms, she decides to make the effort and hang them in her tiny, door-free closet. Because who needs doors?

All clothes unloaded, she checks her watch. Only half an hour’s passed. She sighs and takes out the last few items in her bag, kept safe in a small pouch. Sitting back down on her bed, she empties it into her lap. She picks up a small picture frame and traces the edge of it lightly. She gazes at the sweet image; her, a little younger, and a young, dark-haired boy with a toothy grin next to her. Her arm’s around him, holding him to close to her, both beaming at the camera in front of a sterile white background. As she runs her finger over his face, hers softens fondly.

Shifting the rest of the bag’s contents onto her bed, she walks over to her desk and places the frame carefully in the center of the shelves mounted on the wall above it. She steps back and admires it, smiling wistfully.

CRASH. Ava screams and jumps back as the shelf crashes down onto the desk. She rushes over and checks on the frame and breathes a sigh of relief when she sees it’s unharmed. She clutches it to her chest and closes her eyes.

There’s a soft knock on her door, and she hears it creaks open. Someone steps into the room, and an accented voice floats into the room.

“Hello, are you alright? I heard a crash from across the hall and thought I’d check in.”

Ava turns around to face the intruder. In front of her is a girl almost exactly her height, hair back in a tight bun, and perhaps the most delicate features Ava’s ever seen. Her gaze naturally meets the girl’s deep brown eyes and her arms fall from her chest to her sides, frame dangling from one hand.

Her heart starts pounding again.


	2. Casual Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the doorway to her dorm room is maybe the prettiest girl Ava’s ever seen in her entire life.

In the doorway to her dorm room is maybe the prettiest girl Ava’s ever seen in her entire life. She looks like she belongs on the wall of a museum or the cover of a magazine. Somehow she’s soft and sharp and warm and cold and Ava kind of forgets to speak for a second.

When she jolts herself back to life, it’s like someone hit unpause on her brain and every thought that had stacked up in the down time comes stumbling out.

“Hi! No. I mean, yes! Yes everything’s fine, yes I’m alright. I just tried to put this thing— this frame— on the shelf, and it broke, I mean it’s not like I broke it or anything, it kind of just broke, y’know?”

If the girl in her doorway is affronted by the onslaught of thoughts, she hides it well. With a small smile and her hands folded neatly behind her back, she takes a step a little further into the room.

“They’re infamous for being shaky, especially in this dorm. Would you like some help?”

Can other people hear your heartbeat? Ava’s suddenly very curious to know.

“Help with what?” Brilliant. At least it wasn’t an entire essay this time.

“The shelf? I have a toolkit, I could get it if you’d like. I live just across the hall,” the girl offers.

“Really?” Ava’s taken aback by how easily this stranger has offered her kindness.

“Sure,” she says. “I’ve done it a dozen times before. It’s really not that difficult.”

“I mean, yeah, that would be amazing,” Ava says gratefully. The part of her brain that remembers her manners boots back up and she sticks out her hand. “I’m Ava, by the way. I should’ve opened with that.”

When the other girl takes her hand, it’s with an elegantly amused smile and a firm shake. “Beatrice. This is your first year, I presume?”

“Yeah,” Ava runs an awkward hand through her hair. “I’m a transfer student.”

“Well, welcome,” Beatrice’s voice is so gentle yet so confident and suddenly Ava’s a little lost again. Luckily, Beatrice takes her pause as a cue to leave.

“Shall I go get the tools?”

“Yes! Thank you. You’re great. I mean! That’s great. Thanks,” she sputters. Good lord. She’d happily face a dozen Liliths if it meant she could somehow undo this embarrassment.

“I’ll be back in a moment, then.”

“Fantastic!” Ava replies far too cheerily. Once the girl— Beatrice— has slipped out of the room, her smile slides off her face.

“Holy shit,” she says to herself. “What did I just do?”

She looks down at the photo of her and Diego. What did I get myself into? First it’s Lilith and her terrifying coldness, then Camilla with her perky optimism, and now there’s Beatrice. Is every student here so... much? She’s only three students in and she already feels like she’s aged ten years. She’s still looking at the smiling children in the frame when she hears three light raps on her door.

“I’ve brought the tools. May I come in?”

Ava pulls herself together and places the frame softly on the bed.

“Yes, of course. Thank you for doing this,” she walks over and opens the door for Beatrice. “I really appreciate it.”

“It’s really no trouble at all,” Beatrice assures her.

“Still. I wouldn’t know what to do with all this. I definitely didn’t bring tools.” A joke. Steady voice. That was better.

“Why would you? School supply lists rarely include a toolkit,” Beatrice says lightly, a little humor in her voice.

“Mine sure didn’t.”

Ava hovers behind Beatrice as she moves towards the shelf with her tools, and watches as Beatrice swiftly sets the toolbox on Ava’s desk, opens it, and gets to work.

It takes a moment before Ava snaps out of yet another trance, mesmerized by Beatrice’s work. She shakes her head violently trying to clear it of its haziness and decides to break the silence. Awkward, icebreaking conversation was preferable to being caught staring intently at the back of her hall mate’s head.

“Uh, sorry if I scared you before, by the way,” she says. She settles into her bed and clears her throat. “I didn’t mean to scream. It must’ve been alarming.”

Beatrice laughs and Ava feels her chest tighten. What is happening to her and why does it need to happen today of all days?

“Just a little. But you’ll soon find out this school is not as dull as it seems on the outside.”

“Yeah, the orientation schedule had some... interesting activities. Is martial arts really popular in Catholicism, or...?” She trails off.

“Not mainstream Catholicism, no. But we like to do things.a little differently around here.”

“Oh yeah?” Ava leans in.

“Yeah,” Beatrice finishes fixing the shelf into the wall and turns to face Ava, sitting delicately on the edge of Ava’s desk. “We’ve been an all-girls school since... well, since forever. OCS was founded as an all-girls school, built to empower young girls at a time when that wasn’t exactly popular. Martial arts and self-defense have been part of our culture since the start.”

“That’s pretty dope,” Ava admits. “I knew it was founded by a woman but I didn’t know the rest.”

“Most don’t. It’s an excellent school, but we do prefer to keep to ourselves.”

“I’m certainly learning a lot today.”

Beatrice gives Ava another smile, bigger this time. “You should come to one of the training sessions sometimes. There’s really nothing like it.”

“You do them?”

“Of course. It’s quite fun, really.”

“In this heat?”

Beatrice laughs. “Yes, that can be a bit unpleasant. But most training is done inside, and we do have air conditioning. You’ll still sweat, though.”

Ava sighs dramatically. “I don’t know if I can put myself through that.”

“Well, if you decide you can tolerate it, you’re more than welcome.”

“I would like to learn to throw a proper punch. There’s been a lot of times I’ve wanted to punch a guy and couldn’t.”

“Punching someone isn’t exactly difficult, Ava.” Oh, she likes how Beatrice says her name.

“No, but it’d still be fun to learn.”

“It will be.”

The way Beatrice says it sounds like a promise, and Ava finds herself believing her.

“Okay then. Guess I’m learning how to punch some people!”

“It’ll be slightly more complicated than that.”

“I’m still down!” Ava insists enthusiastically. “As long as I learn to punch someone, I’m game.”

“And learn discipline and experience empowerment in the grand and long tradition of this school, of course,” Beatrice teases.

“Of course! I can do that too,” Ava nods. “Love empowerment and discipline and what-not.”

“Then you’ll fit right in.”

Ava must be doing a bad job at hiding the fear she feels bubbling up, because only a few seconds after the words have left Beatrice’s mouth, she’s examining Ava, curious and concerned.

“Are you alright, Ava?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Ava responds with her false bravado.

“Are you sure?”

“Sure! Definitely.” Ava knows Beatrice isn’t convinced, but she lets it go.

“Would you like to put the photo back on the shelf? It should be stable.”

“Let’s do it!” Ava seizes the opportunity to change the subject and grabs the frame next to her. She crosses over to the desk, ignoring how close she gets to brushing Beatrice’s arm, and places it in the dead center of the shelf. “What do you think? Look good?”

“It’s a lovely picture. Is that your brother?”

Ava can’t help the smile that creeps onto her face, despite the delicate subject matter.

“Yeah, he is.”

“He looks quite like you.”

“Really?” Ava’s never heard that one before, although she supposes everyone she’d known before knew the two weren’t related.

“You have the same smile, I think.”

“Thank you,” Ava says quietly. Beatrice looks away from the photo on the shelf to glance at Ava.

“Do you miss him already?”

“Very much. We were— are very close.”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to talk to you when you call.”

“Yeah.” Ava’s smile fades a little. “I hope.”

“I’m sure,” Beatrice reassures her. “Maybe you can even call today.”

“Oh, uh. It’s kind of hard to reach home, actually. I’ll probably just call later this week,” Ava tries not to stutter as she lies.

“Is home far? Where are you from?”

“Spain,” Ava answers, trying to sound casual. “There’s a big time difference, y’know?”

“I do.”

“What about you? Where’s home for you?” Time for a new subject, totally unrelated to her past. Gotta keep things light and breezy. Ava’s speciality.

To her surprise, Beatrice’s face darkens a little. “England, originally. But I’ve lived here for the past several years.”

“Had to get away from the English rain?” Ava jokes.

“Something like that.”

“Well hey, California beaches are a pretty good replacement, huh?”

Beatrice cracks a smile. “They are.”

“Do you have any favorites? I really want to hit the beach this weekend.”

“Hm... there are a few hidden beaches the school uses to train. I tend to go to those more than anything else,” Beatrice says a little sheepishly.

“Oooh, are you a bookworm? Straight-A, super organized type?”

“Perhaps a little. But the beaches by us are beautiful, even if I mostly go there to train.”

“Cool. Maybe you can show me one this weekend?”

Beatrice raises an eyebrow, and Ava sees a glint of something in her eyes. “How does Saturday afternoon sound? I can meet you here around noon and we can walk there. It’s not far.”

“Yeah!” Ava says, cringing at how eager she sounds. “That would be great!”

“Okay then,” Beatrice stands and brushes her dark blue jeans off. “See you Saturday.”

“Great! Perfect! See you then!” Ava leaps to her feet to walk her to the door. Her world is still spinning as Beatrice exits with a wave.

The beach. This weekend. With Beatrice. Her hall mate/neighbor/shelf savior. Good. Very good. She was making friends, being social. Like a normal, sixteen year old girl at a new school.

Perfectly normal, she lies to herself. _Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the third avarice chapter i’ve written today aaaaah 
> 
> please forgive me if i have missed some typos, i will copy edit tomorrow
> 
> tumblr @malloryeatsthekeys except i don’t really post a lot atm


	3. Morning Walks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Ava wakes up on Saturday morning, it’s like her heart was racing so fast she just couldn’t stay asleep. Her dreams were filled with sand and sun and water lapping over her toes and somebody else’s smile making her feel so, so warm.

When Ava wakes up on Saturday morning, it’s like her heart was racing so fast she just couldn’t stay asleep. Her dreams were filled with sand and sun and water lapping over her toes and somebody else’s smile making her feel so, so warm.

And then she leaps out of bed and towards her very small closet. They were meeting early, and Ava’d be damned if she weren’t ready. Unfortunately, her wardrobe is even smaller than her closet and did not include a bathing suit, although Ava’s kind of glad. She wouldn’t know where to start with bathing suit shopping, and for some reason the idea of standing in front of Beatrice in the itty bitty bikinis she’s seen girls parade around in on TV makes her want to immediately cover herself up with one of Mother Superion’s habits. So maybe it’s for the best her beach-day outfit is a pair of workout shorts and a sports bra. It feels safer, somehow.

She tears off her pajamas and tugs the shorts up over her hips and the sports bra down over her head. She digs through her closet (how is it already messy? She owns so little and has been here for so little time) for a pair of beach-appropriate shoes and pulls out a pair of flip flops she picked up at the duty-free shop. They’re plastic, and cost her barely anything, but they’re black and Ava hopes that hides how flimsy they are.

She doesn’t know how much money Beatrice has, but she knows she’s one of only five scholarship kids in the whole high school, and most girls went the equally expensive OCS counterpart-slash-feeder school for ages thirteen and younger before applying here. So unless Beatrice is one of the four others, she’s at the very least comfortable, which is something Ava’s never been able to say for herself.

What if she’s rich? Like, rich rich. Like legacy rich. Like, can instantly tell Ava’s outfit is made of cheap, brandless approximations of whatever came out last season rich. Like, shows up in one of the ridiculously expensive Instagram model bikinis rich. She’d only ever seen Beatrice in uniform, she doesn’t know what she wears! She’s certainly pretty enough to be an Instagram model, maybe she is one!

Ava’s mind briefly conjures the image of Beatrice’s potential Instagram, filled with the luxurious vacations on private jets, sponsored vitamin posts, glamorous beach shots in designer bikinis—

But y’know what that didn’t seem like her, Ava reassures herself hurriedly. She’d had her hair pulled back so neatly, her mannerisms were so controlled and elegant, she’d been so polite and kind. Not exactly the showy influencer type. Nothing to worry about.

Except the cheap clothes thing. That could still be an issue. But not really one she could do much about.

She makes her way to the $30 mirror she put in her corner, tall enough she could see her entire body but low-quality enough she could see little waves and distortions on her skin.

It doesn’t look too bad. It’s simple, definitely, but maybe that’s just her style. For all anyone else knows, Ava Silva prefers simple outfits. Maybe she’s a down-to-earth, no-frills type. Maybe she’s too focused and cool to care that much about her clothes. Maybe she’s just so damn hot she doesn’t need anything fancy. Maybe it has nothing to do with what she can afford. And people can’t tell brands from just looking at them, right? Like, that’s crazy. It’s not like Beatrice was going to be checking the tags on her clothes to see if they were expensive enough for her to be around. That’s the sort of thing only an actual alien from the weirdest planet ever would do.

Plus, maybe she was hot enough to pull it off. It certainly didn’t look bad, even if there’s a part of the mirror that makes it look like she Facetuned a random indent into her thigh. She’s fine with simple.

She grabs her comb and fixes her crooked part as best she can. She’s grateful the transition to the California air hasn’t upset her waves too much, but she still grabs her go-to spray bottle full of water to try and eliminate as much frizz as possible. When she’s mostly satisfied, she fluffs up the bottom of her hair and strikes a pose, admiring her work. She plays with different arrangements, tucking her hair behind her left ear, right ear, both ears, even pulling it to a mock ponytail before settling with it exactly how she started.

She looks pretty dang good, she thinks. Especially for way too early in the morning. Beatrice had been insistent on the time, and Ava couldn’t bring herself to put up that much of a fight. Plus, a trip to the beach against a California coast sunrise hardly sounded that bad. She’s actually a little proud of herself for getting up on time and getting ready so fast. She must have at least fifteen solid minutes until Beatrice is ready. What time is it, anyways?

She searches for where she last put her phone and realizes she left it exactly where she put it last night, charging on her desk. Shit, she forgot to check the time completely. For a panicked second she wonders if she missed it entirely, but the lack of light coming from her windows quickly assuages that fear. Regardless, she doesn’t waste any time picking up her phone and confirming it anyways.

To her relief, she definitely hasn’t missed it. Sadly, she’s up an hour and a half before she needed to be.

She’s surprised her groan doesn’t wake the entire floor up.

—————————————————————————————

Ava’s been staring at her ceiling for at least half an hour now. For the first ten or fifteen minutes after she realized her mistake, she had tried to go back to sleep. Tried and failed. Her mind is too preoccupied with all the infinite possibilities ahead of her. She’d never really made plans with anyone, much less with any mysterious-yet-kind hallmates who fixes shelves impressively quickly, and she can’t stop entertaining all the potential scenarios, good and bad.

At least the sky is lightening a little now, and she’s hit a sweet spot in her Spotify playlist. She’s just starting to let herself relax a little, letting her thoughts drift from endless scenarios into lazy daydreams, when her phone buzzes. All the tension and energy that had begun to melt out of her immediately springs back into her body as she opens the text from Beatrice.

_Whenever you’re up and ready, feel free to knock on my door._

For some reason, Ava had pictured Beatrice knocking on her door, just as she had a few days ago, and Ava, prepared this time, opening the door for her and welcoming her into the room properly, even if just for a moment before they leave. In all her scenarios, she hadn’t considered one when she goes over to Beatrice, knocks on her door, maybe even goes into her room, just for a moment. Or a little longer.

She could go now. Knock on her door. Go in. There’s still a half hour or so until they’d planned to head to the beach. Maybe they’d talk.

They’d only exchanged a handful of text messages in the past few days, a few brief (but delightful) conversations when they ran into each other in the hall before bed. She only knows a little about Beatrice, and she’s dying to know more. Talking could be nice.

Or maybe they’d leave early, and take a slower walk to the beach. Get there before sunrise, sit and wait for it to warm up the cold waves lapping at their feet until it’s comfortable enough to swim. Or wade, at least. Ava’s not the strongest swimmer, although she imagines Beatrice is.

Beatrice! Text message.

Ava looks down at her phone only to realize she’d been typing the entire three minutes she’d been lost in thought.

“Oh, shit,” she mutters.

She quickly taps out a response.

_i’m awake now! should i come over or is it too early?_

Beatrice’s bubble pops up quickly. It disappears for a moment and Ava exhales the breath she didn’t mean to be holding when it returns.

_Well, seeing as we’re both up, why don’t we get a head start on the morning ahead?_

A small smile creeps onto Ava’s face. She’s pretty sure that’s Beatrice for “yes, please.”

With a quick check in the mirror, she slings her small bag over her shoulder, slides on her shoes, and heads out.

She takes a deep breath before knocking twice on Beatrice’s door. In barely a second, Beatrice pulls it open and there she is, standing in front of Ava in black joggers and a loose, light blue t-shirt.

“Good morning,” Beatrice says, a small, bright smile on her face.

“Morning!” She winces a little at her accidental volume. Oops.

“I have to admit, I’m a little surprised you’re up so early. I’ve never seen in you in the halls this early,”

“I’m surprised too,” Ava confesses. “Do you always get up this early?”

“Most days. I like an early start.”

There’s a moment of slightly-awkward silence, but it gives Ava a moment for her brain to catch up. She blinks, registering Beatrice’s outfit truly for the first time.

“You’re wearing joggers to the beach? Is it that cold in the morning?”

Beatrice laughs. “Yes, definitely. This is a desert, remember?”

“Oh, shoot. Should I go change?” Ava glances over her shoulder towards her room. “I don’t live far.”

“No, you’ll be fine,” Beatrice says, giving her a smile with a little bit of something Ava can’t quite place peaking through. “We’ll warm up quick.”

Ava believes her. She’s already getting there.

“Anyways, would you like to come in, or shall we just start now?”

Ava’s confident her efforts to conceal her rising temperature and quickening heartbeat would fall apart if she went into Beatrice’s room right now.

“Why don’t we get going? I’m excited to see the beach!”

“Then let’s head out.”

“Great!” Ava backs away from the door to let Beatrice step into the hallway, locking her door behind her. She turns to face Ava, and with the most playfulness Ava’s seen from her, gestures towards the staircase with a slight bow.

“Shall we?”

“We shall!” Ava says with a grin. “Let’s do it!”

They’re already down the six flights of stairs before Ava thinks to ask how far away the beach is.

“It’s a five minute walk from here,” Beatrice replies.

Ava looks at her with surprise. “Really? That close?”

Beatrice laughs. “Beaches are pretty common around here. Didn’t you see them on the map?”

Ava scrunches her nose up sheepishly. “I couldn’t really find it on Google Maps, honestly. I really tried, but nothing turned up.They just sent me a suggested travel itinerary after orientation and I followed it. Figured I couldn’t go wrong, right?”

“Fair enough, I suppose. We are rather hidden here. I think the school prefers it that way.”

“So they can’t hear our screams as we complete miles of homework?”

“We do use the area around us for exercises quite a bit. I’d imagine the isolation of our anguish is just a bonus.”

Ava grins before putting on a mock pout.

“Seriously, though, the workload is already crazy. It’s reading week and I already have assignments. For classes I’ve never been to!”

“It’s like that here. The academics are intense. Did you think it would be easy?” Beatrice teases.

“Definitely not. I just didn’t expect it to start so soon. I thought I had a few more days to settle in, but I’ve had to read like fifty pages each night after orientation stuff.”

“Junior year is notorious around here for being quite difficult,” Beatrice concedes. “Most people suffer a little.”

“It’s kind of hard to imagine you suffering,” Ava says. Beatrice only smiles, so she continues. “I mean, you seem like you’re on top of your shit.”

“I am very invested in my studies. And I enjoy a lot of what we learn here.”

“So are you suffering, then?”

“...no. I’ve read most of my assigned readings before, and it doesn’t take too long for me to refresh my memory.”

Ava laughs. “See! I knew it.”

“It won’t last!” Beatrice protests. “It’s just the first week, the readings aren’t too difficult.”

Ava accidentally lets out a snort. She covers her mouth quickly, but Beatrice is already giving her a look of slightly huffy surprise.

“Sorry! It’s just... reading Chaucer without any translations isn’t exactly easy.”

“There’s annotations, and Chaucer’s interesting. Fun, even.”

“I do kind of like the Middle English. Some of their words are so funny. But you probably like it for the symbolism and literary value, or whatever.”

“Well, yes.” She pauses. “But I do also like how they spell.”

“Oh, definitely.”

This silence is much more comfortable. They walk down a small paved pathway, Beatrice leading the way, for another minute before Beatrice speaks again.

“We’re almost there.”

“Really? Wow, that really was fast.”

“We’re very close to the beach.”

“Clearly,” Ava says. She checks her phone. “It’s not even seven yet. We weren’t even going to leave for another half hour.”

“No,” Beatrice responds. “But we’ll be early enough to warm up this way.”

“Is the sunrise that soon?”

“Nope.”

Beatrice doesn’t elaborate as the paved path turns into sand.

“We’re over there,” Beatrice points. Ava looks at her target and sees a small group of girls around their age stretching in the sand.

“What is this?”

“Warm ups. Not everyone comes, because we do a warm up run first anyways, but the extra stretching is really good for you,” Beatrice replies nonchalantly.

“We’re working out?”

“Tai chi is quite meditative.”

“That did not answer my question.”

“You said you wanted to try training with us.”

“I didn’t know you meant today!” Ava complains. “I thought we were going to see the sunrise!”

“We will!”

“But we’ll be working out!”

“Tai chi really is nice, I promise. I wouldn’t have brought you if I didn’t think you could do it.”

“Fine,” Ava says begrudgingly, knowing she wasn’t going to just leave and return to her dorm at this point. “I can’t believe you tricked me.”

Beatrice fixes her with smug (yet small), mischievous smile.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope the longer chapter makes up for the fact that they’re not even fully at the beach yet!! i promise your beach date fantasies will not be ignored for _too_ long 
> 
> i hope all having good weeks, and if you’re not, i hope your week gets better!


	4. Tai Chi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh good God,” Ava says, still breathing heavily. “Do you want to stay for the rest of it?” 
> 
> She’s praying harder than she has in years that Beatrice says no. 
> 
> Beatrice laughs. “No, I’m not going to do that to you.” 
> 
> Ava could hug her. “Thank you.” 
> 
> “I was actually thinking we could take a walk,” Beatrice says tentatively. “To cool down. Since we won’t be finishing the class.” 
> 
> Ava’s heart can’t beat any faster than it is right now, but it tries.

Ava finds tai chi neither nice nor meditative, but instead extremely difficult and incredibly stressful. Well, the tai chi itself isn’t stressful, it’s that every other person on this beach, including the baby-faced girls that Ava assumes are freshman, seems to have a freaking black belt. Thankfully, Beatrice had led her to a spot in the back of the group once everyone else had arrived, despite the instructor’s attempts to get her (but not Ava) to stand in the front row and demonstrate. That’s when Ava learned Beatrice _actually_ has a black belt. Several, apparently, in multiple disciplines. But she’d offered Ava a sheepish smile and, much to Ava’s relief, stayed by her side in the back.

Which is how she got here, struggling to mimic the graceful forms the instructor’s performing, catching glimpses out of the corner of her eye of Beatrice flawlessly executing every single one. Ava doesn’t know much about tai chi, but she thinks Beatrice might actually be better than the instructor. Of course, her focus is a little split, between her desperate attempts to follow along and the burning in her legs and core and arms and just. Body in general. There’s sweat dripping from every inch of her, and she’s glad she wore her most water resistant clothing because she definitely needs it.

“Okay girls! That’s our break! Be back here in ten,” the instructor calls out.

“Oh thank fuck,” Ava gasps. She immediately folds over, hands on her knees, breathing heavily. “How long until this is over?”

“Well...”

“Please, please tell me it’s like five minutes and not like, an hour.”

“That was only the first hour of four.”

Ava shoots up. “You’re kidding.”

“No. There’s an advanced class after this. For most girls, that was just a warm-up.”

“The warm-up?!”

“A warm-up for them,” Beatrice reassures her. “It’s more like a introductory class, really.”

“Oh good God,” Ava says, still breathing heavily. “Do you want to stay for the rest of it?”

She’s praying harder than she has in years that Beatrice says no.

Beatrice laughs. “No, I’m not going to do that to you.”

Ava could hug her. “Thank you.”

“I was actually thinking we could take a walk,” Beatrice says tentatively. “To cool down. Since we won’t be finishing the class.”

Ava’s heart can’t beat any faster than it is right now, but it tries.

“Yeah, that sounds great! Um, could we maybe take a swim first? I’m kind of gross.” She forces a laugh, trying to hide her embarrassment. Beatrice looks like she’s barely broken a sweat, her flushed cheeks the only sign she’s been working out, a vision compared to Ava’s sweat-soaked clothes and messy hair.

“Here? They’re about to start class again. I was going to take us that way,” Beatrice points down the beach, away from the group and their dorms.

“Is there maybe a place down there we could swim?”

Beatrice hesitates. “Sure, if you’d like.”

Of course she doesn’t want to go swimming, Ava, she’s wearing _sweatpants_. And a t-shirt! Only you thought you’d be swimming, why would she be wearing a bathing suit for tai chi? But she definitely needs to wash off...

“Are you sure that’s okay? We don’t have to, if you don’t want to! I can just take a quick dip and clean off, I know you’re not wearing anything you can wear swimming, I’m just... gross...,” her voice fades as she loses steam, and she stands there awkwardly.

Beatrice blinks at her. “Oh, I’m wearing bike shorts and a top under this. I’m just surprised, that’s all. Let’s go!”

Her warm smile is enough to convince Ava, and with her own grin, she follows Beatrice down the beach, looking back only to observe the band of super-athletic Catholic school girls stretching and preparing to resume their class.

“So where are we headed?”

“There’s a nice spot further up, with a beautiful view. I thought we’d sit there for a while— the mornings here are very pretty, especially just after sunrise.”

“Can we swim there?”

“Of course. It’s a beach, Ava,” Beatrice teases.

“Right.” Ava’s glad her face is already red from tai chi, because otherwise embarrassment would’ve done it by now. “I guess I’m just not used to beaches yet.”

“Really?” Beatrice seems surprised. “Spanish beaches are lovely.”

“You’ve been to Spain?”

“We went on holiday there a few times when I was younger,”

“Oh, of course. That’s cool— do you travel a lot?”

“I used to.”

There’s that flicker of something dark she saw the first day they met. Ava doesn’t want to push it, so she changes the subject.

“Gotcha. I didn’t really go to the beaches when I lived in Spain.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I actually only learned to swim like, a year ago,” Ava continues. “So there wouldn’t have been much point in going to the beach anyways.”

“What made you decide to learn to swim, then?”

Ava’s blood turns to ice. Shit. At least she’s cooler now, she thinks vaguely. She tries to pull herself together so Beatrice doesn’t notice.

“Uh, just felt it was time. Fifteen and couldn’t swim, y’know? Thought I should probably learn.”

Beatrice accepts this with a nod. “Well, how do you like it?”

“Like what?”

“Swimming?”

“Oh! It’s great, yeah. Lots of fun. I’m pretty good at it now, too,” she says, a little proud. “When I first learned, I was awful. Like, truly atrocious. I’m just about the least coordinated person on the planet.”

Beatrice laughs. “I’ve seen much worse.”

“Oh really? Where?” Ava challenges. “I guarantee you haven’t.”

“I have! You made it through tai chi very well.”

Ava feels herself blush. “Yeah, right. I was falling over every thirty seconds.”

“That’s an exaggeration. You were great. A natural, even.”

“You flatter me, Bea. You made it look easy.”

Maybe it wasn’t as easy for Beatrice as she thought— when Ava looks over, her cheeks are still tinged pink the way they were after they finished the supposed warm-up.

“Thank you,” she says quietly. “Um, it’s just over this little hill.”

Ava groans. “A hill? You’re going to kill me, I swear.”

“It’s worth it, trust me.”

“The last time I did that, I ended up flailing around on a beach trying to do tai chi before the sun came up.”

“Sorry.”

“No you’re not. I think you’re quite proud of yourself, actually.”

“I am!” Beatrice insists, biting back a smirk.

“Come on! That is such bullshit! You knew exactly what you were doing.”

“I couldn’t possibly know what you’re implying, Ava.”

She looks at Beatrice incredulously, an innocuous expression fixed on her face.

“I think you know exactly what I’m implying, Beatrice.”

“Hmm?” 

“I’m talking about how you lied to me and tricked me into doing tai chi instead of sitting and watching the sunrise—”

“I did not lie!” Beatrice interrupts.

“So you admit you tricked me?”

“No,” Beatrice pauses. “I’m just saying that I didn’t lie. I just... omitted certain details. We’re still going to sit and watch the sun.”

“But not the sunrise.”

“No, but we already saw it.”

“While doing tai chi.”

“Yes.”

“Which you didn’t tell me about.”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t trick me?”

“Exactly.” Before Ava can protest, they’re at the top of the hill and she’s staring at a beautiful stretch of sea and sand, nestled under a small cliff, with blue water lapping against a cluster of large boulders near the shore, each big enough to fit three people comfortably.

“Wow,” she breathes out, stopping to take it all in. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Was the hill worth it?”

“Definitely.”

“Told you.”

“Did you just ‘I told you so’ me?”

“Well, I did,” Beatrice defends herself.

“Hmph. Well, we’re not even over it yet, so that might change. You never know.”

“Sure.” They stand in silence for a moment, Ava still drinking it. When she’s had enough, she gives Beatrice a huge, mischievous grin and takes off running.

“Race you!”

“What— Ava!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m sorry this took so long and is shorter than expected— their beach outing was supposed to be one chapter, but my dog died this week and i need/ed a little break, but didn’t want to leave you hanging for too long. i might eventually edit this chapter and the next to be one like i intended, but for now, here is part one of The Beach Date™️
> 
> please enjoy, and i hope you’re all safe and well, especially if you’re on the west coast of n. america rn— stay inside, stay safe. our sky will be blue again someday, hopefully soon 💙


	5. Sunrise Bays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She closes her eyes, letting the sun melt the stress off her and the waves whisk it away. Being around kids her own age constantly acting like a normal high school student was hard enough, but this morning was more challenging than her entire three-day orientation with the entire freshman class and all the other transfers. Being around her was more intense than being around an entire auditorium of students. It was an emotional rollercoaster, and she was so acutely aware of herself around Beatrice, like she was holding herself under a microscope, looking for any imperfection Beatrice may notice. Any break in her walls.
> 
> But she likes it. After years almost entirely on her own, it kind of felt like Beatrice understood her. Which might be silly, because they’d only known each other a few days and hadn’t talked much, but it’s still true. Beatrice is confusing, but also not. Or maybe Ava’s just dumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m sorry for the title. i just really love schitt’s creek

Ava races down the hill, feeling her heels sink into the sand and grains of sand sticking to her feet and calves. It’s not long before Beatrice is next to her, laughing as she overtakes Ava and comes to a (fairly) neat stop at the bottom of the hill. Ava, on the other hand, stumbles to a stop a few feet past her, panting.

“That was a mistake,” she groans. Her already-burning legs are certainly not happy with her decision. Nor are her lungs. “My body is screaming.”

Beatrice laughs. “All the more reason to take a quick swim, then. Race you?”

“Absolutely not. I’ve learned my lesson about racing you.”

“Oh?”

“Uh-huh. Should’ve known better than to think I could win after seeing you do tai chi, really.”

Ava sees Beatrice flush and turn her gaze down.

“Can I tell you something?”

Ava’s insides turn to ice. “Uh, sure.”

“During tai chi...,” Beatrice trails off. She knew it. She was so bad at it, she probably offended the great tradition of tai chi or the legacy of strong women or something.

“Iwasmessinguponpurpose.”

Ava blinks. The ice shatters and she breaks into laughter.

“You messed up?!”

“I thought you’d rather avoid the attention, and it was clear she wanted me to demonstrate, so I made a few mistakes on purpose. As a preventative measure.”

“That was you messing up?!”

“Yes.”

“Holy shit Beatrice. What does it look like when you don’t mess up?” Ava tries her best not to imagine it.

“I feel guilty. I don’t want you walking away from the class thinking that’s what good tai chi looks like.”

“You feel guilty for making a few mistakes so the entire class wouldn’t be starting at me butchering an ancient martial art?”

“You paid more attention than I thought you would.”

“You’re such a good person, Bea,” Ava meant that to sound more like teasing than a heartfelt compliment. Oops.

“I am?”

Ava shrugs, trying to disguise her slip into authenticity. “I mean, you confessed to lying even though you didn’t actually lie and did it because you were being nice. What else would you call it?”

“Catholic guilt?” Beatrice offers with a small smirk.

“Fair enough,” Ava concedes.“Ready to take a swim?”

“You go ahead,” Beatrice says. “I’ll meet you there.”

“Sounds good!”

Ava walks into the water as quickly as she can without her legs literally collapsing, relief flooding over her as the cold water soothes her aching muscles and cools her warm skin. She sighs, breathing deeply for the first time since waking up this morning.

She closes her eyes, letting the sun melt the stress off her and the waves whisk it away. Being around kids her own age constantly acting like a normal high school student was hard enough, but this morning was more challenging than her entire three-day orientation with the entire freshman class and all the other transfers. Being around her was more intense than being around an entire auditorium of students. It was an emotional rollercoaster, and she was so acutely aware of herself around Beatrice, like she was holding herself under a microscope, looking for any imperfection Beatrice may notice. Any break in her walls.

But she likes it. After years almost entirely on her own, it kind of felt like Beatrice understood her. Which might be silly, because they’d only known each other a few days and hadn’t talked much, but it’s still true. Beatrice is confusing, but also not. Or maybe Ava’s just dumb.

“How’s the water?” Beatrice calls from the shore.

“Cold!” Ava shouts back. She opens her eyes and turns back towards the sand, searching for Beatrice.

Huh. Ava wouldn’t have imagined bike shorts and a sports bra could look elegant, but Beatrice pulled it off in all black. It matches her hair, she thinks hazily.

Beatrice winces as she reaches Ava. “You’re right, it’s freezing.”

“Yeah,” Ava manages. “It’s nice, though. Easier than icing every muscle in my body, at least.”

Beatrice smiles. “Sorry.”

“You need to stop apologizing when you don’t mean it. I see right through you.”

“I mean it this time, promise.”

“Really?”

“Really. It will get better, though, the more you do it.”

“Oh God, more?”

“It’s tradition.”

“I’m not really big on tradition.”

“No, I didn’t think so. But there’s value in tradition. Some traditions, at least.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Tai chi relieves stress and anxiety, makes you stronger, helps your endurance.”

“Sure,” Ava allows, “but it also makes my lungs hurt.”

“It’ll get easier, it will. You just have to keep trying,” Beatrice looks her in the eye. “Promise me you’ll try at least one more time?”

“Okay,” Ava says. “I will.”

Beatrice smiles. “Good.”

They stand in silence for a moment, enjoying the budding sun on the horizon.

“It’s so pretty here. Sometimes I can’t believe it’s real.”

“What about it is so surreal?”

“Everything,” Ava admits. “I didn’t... get out much, as a kid, so being totally independent in a totally new country at school— a new school, I mean— it feels like a dream.”

“I felt that way when I first got here, too.”

“You did?”

“California is a very different place from England, and I have a lot more freedom now than I did there.”

“Were your parents strict?”

“You could say that. OCS also provides far more opportunities for independence than your average Catholic school, especially the types of Catholic schools my parents sent me to before I was accepted here.”

“Oof. Did you have the type with the really mean nuns as teachers?”

“Nuns aren’t that bad. Western media gives them such poor representation.”

Ava snorts. “I beg to differ.”

“Did you go to Catholic school before OCS?”

“Something like that. The nuns were pretty bad, though.”

“How so?”

“Oh, the usual mean nun stuff. No swearing, no taking the Lord’s name in vain, no ‘devil music,’ ‘women should be demure,’ etc., etc. You know the type.”

“I do. But the sisters here definitely aren’t the demure type.”

“Good,” Ava says. “I could use a change of pace. Speaking of— want to head to shore? I think I’m getting frostbite.”

Beatrice nods. “Let’s go.”

They make their way back to the beach, and Ava follows Beatrice to a group of boulders at least four feet tall. Beatrice quickly finds a foothold and climbs to the top. Kneeling at its edge, she offers Ava a hand. “Here, take my hand.”

“What?” The chill the water left on Ava’s skin is suddenly gone as heat crawls up the back of her neck.

“Aren’t you coming up?”

“Oh! Yes! Thank you!”

Ava places her foot where Beatrice had put hers, and grabs her hand, avoiding eye contact as Beatrice pulls her up.

“Wow, it’s even prettier up here,” Ava says as she catches sight of the skyline. From the boulders, they’re able look over the entire ocean horizon, but also able to look down into the blue water where small fish darted around strands of seaweed dancing in waves. “I love fish.”

Beatrice’s eyebrows furrow. “To eat?”

“No. Well, yes, but I also like live fish.”

“What about them do you like?”

“I don’t know, exactly. But I’ve only ever had fish as pets, so I have a soft spot for them.”

“You could get one here, you know.”

“Really?! I thought we couldn’t have pets in the dorm.”

“You’re not, but fish are an exception. Less shedding.”

“Well, maybe I’ll pick one up. Are there any pet stores around here?”

“There’s one in the nearest town.”

“How far is that?”

“Twenty, thirty minutes by car.”

“Damn,” Ava laments. “I don’t even have a license, much less a car.”

“Our RA does. She’d probably take you next time.”

“Next time?”

“We go into town once a month or so, to get away from campus. It’s a good break, and we usually need it.”

“We?”

“Our RA Mary, and my friends Lilith and Camila.”

“Wait— does Camila work the front desk?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m pretty sure Lilith hates me.”

“That wouldn’t be out of character,” Beatrice agreed. “But she warms up once you get to know her.”

“Oh, good.”

“She expects a lot from the people around her, but she’s incredibly loyal to the people she cares for. She’s not as scary as she looks.”

“That wouldn’t be hard,” Ava remembers the withering, hardened stare Lilith had given her. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been so scared.”

“When did you meet her?”

“She was sitting at the front desk when I first got here. I had just gotten off a crazy flight, and I may have pissed her off by accident when trying to check in. I’m pretty sure she was about to breathe fire when Camila walked in.”

“She’s a bit prickly at first, but I’m sure you’ll win her over. I’ll introduce you properly on Tuesday.”

“What’s Tuesday?”

“First day of the third year core class. Lilith’s a junior as well.”

“And everyone’s in the same class?”

“Yes.”

“How big is the classroom?”

Beatrice frowns. “Well, there aren’t many students per year, so it’s a fairly small class, but it’s still a lecture hall.”

“Great, then I’ll be in the back row holding a fire hydrant to put myself out with.”

“She can’t breathe fire, Ava.”

“Anyone can light a match.”

Beatrice’s at a loss for words. “I suppose I can’t argue with that. But I doubt she’d attempt arson during class.”

“Would she attempt it outside of class?!”

“We have some interesting extracurricular here at OCS.”

“Apparently.” Ava lies down on the warm stone. “When did you start here?”

“When I was twelve. There’s a program that allows younger students to take courses here before they start high school.”

“Wow. A black belt and a kid genius. What can’t you do?”

“More than you’d think,” Beatrice says quietly. “But I’ve always loved reading, and that’s most of what we do here. I enjoy it.”

“You’re lucky. I had to be forced to read as a kid. I couldn’t never focus.”

“I can imagine a young Ava darting around, too energetic to be tied down long enough to finish a book.”

“Yeah, when I was really little. I got better as I got older, though. Less darting around.”

“I assumed.”

“You did?”

“Admissions here are pretty competitive. If you hadn’t learned to focus, I doubt you’d be here.”

“Right, of course. I definitely learned to stay still,” Ava says. “And learned to appreciate a good book.”

“I’m glad,” Beatrice lies down next to Ava, shoulder brushing against Ava’s as she settles in. Ava’s arm tingles. “I can’t be friends with someone who doesn’t know how to appreciate a good book.”

Ava moves her gaze from the sky to Beatrice’s profile, illuminated by the soft morning sun. “Are we friends?”

Beatrice turns to face her, close enough Ava could count her dark eyelashes. “I’d like to think so. Is that alright?”

Without a second thought, Ava nods. “I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovely people 💖 thank you for being patient with me, and for all your lovely words. i read all of them, even though i didn’t respond, and i truly appreciate your kindness. i am doing much better physically and emotionally, and happy to be back to these adorable idiots!! please enjoy part 2 of part 2 of the beach date~ 
> 
> i’ll delete the last chapter + merge this with its part one on friday to avoid confusion in the future, but for now, enjoy ~sunrise bays~
> 
> (i’m not actually sorry about the title)


End file.
